Tuesday, August 02, 2005

Day One has Come and Gone...So far it hasn't been perfect but it's working out. Without boring anyone with details of each meal or snack I'll just provide quick rundown on what we had that wasn't local:

asparagus - ironic because NJ is know for the stuff, but it's out of season here now.Assorted spices and olive oil.Butter - even though we bought a local brand, we didn't want to waste what was already opened.Tortilla ChipsThat's it, everything else was locally grown or produced.

One challenge we faced over the weekend was getting rid of things that we had on hand and would not be using. Anything that wouldn't last was tossed and what could be stored was pushed back on the shelves to make room for our growing supply of local products.

The subject does come-up as to where to draw the line on items that are produced locally, but we know the ingredients most likely are not. For example, we got pasta from a Trenton Italian market that they make on site. Or, the prepared polish mustard locally made and bottled but where do the ingredients come from? It would be great if there were prepared items that were 100% local, but that may be too much to ask. For now knowing that we are buying from small local producers rather than giants will have to be adequate. Even defining large from small is an issue, but I'll stay away from that one. Let's just say that Mars, Nabisco, Anheuser-Busch (thank God I don't know how to spell it) and many others, though all made in NJ, are off the list.

Sweet CornThis is the most popular common food here for this time of the year and it is sooo good. This year is especially good so far I guess because it got hot so early this summer. Right off the cob with butter is the best way to eat it, but I like using left overs in other things.I made a Salsa Verde with roasted tomatillos, roasted corn, roasted peppers and onions - all locally grown. Too bad there are no local tortilla chips.